Stoneham High School Faces Cuts to 66 Courses Affecting Nearly 800 Students

STONEHAM -- February 6, 2025, Stoneham School Committee confronts the possible elimination of entire academic programs as the district's budget deficit reaches $1.7 million. At the February 6 virtual meeting, Stoneham High School Principal Brian Lombardi presented a draft program of studies showing 66 course sections, including all of French, all of Italian, all of health education, and the entire child development pathway, could be eliminated for 2025-26, displacing an estimated 777 students, or roughly 110 students every period of the school day. "These types of cuts are unprecedented," Lombardi said, adding that the master scheduling team is "really unsure" whether it can meet every student's graduation requirements if the reductions go through. Chair Jamie Donahue and member Melanie Lundell each singled out health education as a non-negotiable priority for restoration, with Lundell stating, "There's just no universe I'm okay with losing an entire health program." No vote was taken on the program of studies or draft graduation-requirement changes; both documents will be posted to the district website as drafts pending further budget clarity. The committee did vote 4-0 to accept a $30,000 state PRISM early literacy grant, one of only 15 awarded statewide, and to return a Stoneham Bank ATM to the new high school building, while unanimously voting to keep vending machines offline to protect an approximately $220,000 green-building energy benchmark.